Free This Blackened Night by L.K. Below

up to cover one hand with hers.
    He broke the kiss. Tears shimmered in his eyes. “I thought I’d lost you.”
    Lori swallowed the clot in her throat. “I thought so too,” she said in a rasp.
    He backed her up, hands never leaving the sides of her face.
    She swallowed, seeing the intent in his eyes, the undeniable need. Her innards fluttered.
    Terrence urged her onto the bed, pausing to remove her boots. After shedding his jacket and shoes, he lowered his strong, six-foot-four frame onto hers.
    Their first, long-ago night together, only alcohol had lowered her inhibitions enough for her to realize what she wanted. Never before had she indulged a relationship longer than a one-night stand. If she did now, everything would change.
    She reached up to pull him close for a kiss.
    For the first time in her life, she craved that change.
     

 
    Chapter 11
     
    Lori softly closed the bathroom door behind her. After all the delightful things she and Terrence had just engaged in, she should feel relaxed. Satisfied. Instead, her stomach writhed like a pit of venomous snakes. Not because of what she’d done.
    It was a warning.
    Their battle with Pierre was far from over. Would she lose Terrence just after she’d finally let him in? Tears sprung to her eyes, but she blinked them away. These past six months had torn away almost everyone she cared for. She didn’t want to lose Terrence, too.
    She peered into the mirror. Her eyes were red, but hopefully not too noticeable. Knowing Terrence, he would mention it anyway. Should she confess about the warning her body sent her? Even the thought ratcheted the sensation higher. She gripped the cold, ceramic sink and fought the instinct to hurl. Something wasn’t right. It would happen soon. Was Terrence safe even now?
    The shower curtain rustled behind her. She turned.
    In a flash, Pierre stood toe-to-toe with her. His snarl pulled tight the gruesome, puckered scar on his face.
    Her gaze darted around the bathroom. How had he gotten in? The bathroom had no windows.
    She stumbled back, but the vanity blocked her path. “Terr–”
    Pierre closed his rough fingers around her neck, cutting off her scream. She gasped, trying to suck in air, but nothing came. Her lungs burned. Her vision grayed around the edges.
    She flailed, trying to kick him where it hurt. But clad in nothing but her underwear and Terrence’s t-shirt, her jab didn’t hold much punch. Her toes sent spirals of agony through her foot when they collided with Pierre’s shin. He didn’t even grunt. She kicked again, this time thumping her heel into the vanity. The pain was dull, like her eyesight.
    Don’t give up .
    Terrence knocked on the closed door. “Lori, are you all right in there?”
    No! Help! But she couldn’t get a sound out. She thrashed her foot against the vanity again, hoping the sound would alert him to her plight.
    Terrence slammed open the door, then froze in the opening.
    “You’d best let me pass, cousin. Any minute, she’ll die from lack of air.”
    The process had already begun. Her vision swam. Twin Terrences wavered in front of her eyes. She clawed at the hand at her throat, to no avail. Her throat and lungs were on fire. She was dying. Don’t give up.
    Terrence hesitated.
    Don’t do it, Terrence!
    He stepped aside.
    No!
    Her vision shrank. Blackened to a pinpoint, and then winked out.
    * * * *
    Lori’s throat throbbed like the dickens. She tried to swallow and nearly cried out from the resulting agony. What had happened?
    She pried her eyes open. Night shrouded the scenery, the only light given off by a lone streetlamp twenty feet away. Shadows elongated off her form to brush the figure of someone else. She was cold. Goosebumps rose over her bare legs and feet. Gritty pavement scraped against her skin as she shifted.
    The figure moved. Light sliced across his face, enough for her to recognize him. She gasped. The Spenta Michos! Gaunt and unshaven, with hollow cheeks and sunken, defeated eyes,